9th January
by BarbaraKaterina
Summary: Severus Snape lives through his 52nd birthday. But perhaps there are some pleasant surprises left even for him. Sort of complete.
1. Happy Birthday, Severus

_I own nothing. Obviously._

_Happy 52__nd__ birthday, Professor Snape. _

_Just for the record, this story takes place today – 9__th__ January 2012._

-

Severus Snape woke up, opened his eyes, and frowned. Another year older. And as if that wasn't depressing enough, this year his birthday coincided with the first day of term, too. He never saw his birthday as much cause for celebration, but this made it markedly worse. Then again, his disapproval had never changed anything even in case of things that _were_ fundamentally changeable, so he could hardly expect the calendar to conform to it. Thus concluding, he got out of bed.

There were some presents on his bedside table. Unwrapping them, he discovered books from Minerva, Filius, Pomona and Poppy, some potions ingredients from Hagrid, a couple of wine bottles from some of his old Order comrades, and birthday cards from the rest of his colleagues. He'd though that after Dumbledore died – ha! after he'd killed him – the new teachers at least wouldn't know when to bother him with birthday wishes, but for some reason, Minerva hadn't wasted her time in informing them. The woman was mostly reasonable, but sometimes she could be so absurd he couldn't understand it. Because she probably genuinely believed it would secretly please him, which was complete nonsense.

Not that he was that much of a sociopath to hate birthday wishes on principle – he didn't see any reason to celebrate, true, but he knew others disagreed and in that case, he supposed it was...nice of them to try and make him feel the day was somehow special. The books from his colleagues were all well chosen, far enough from his field of study that he didn't already own them, but close enough that he was interested. What he hated were the generic birthday wishes, like the ones from Babbling, Sinistra, Towler, Clearwater and Roberts that were to be found on his bedside table right now. These people hardly knew him and had no idea what to give to him; they probably didn't like him. So they should have simply ignored the date – like Trelawney did, and thank Merlin for that.

Vanishing the offensive cards, Severus headed for the bathroom.

After arriving at breakfast, he thanked everyone he thought deserved thanking and sat down to eat. Before he managed one bite, however, Minerva turned to him.

"I had a request from Hermione, Severus. She would like to meet with you this evening, if possible."

He raised one eyebrow. "Why?"

"She said it concerned Victoire Weasley."

"As far as I know, Victoire is a child of William and Fleur. We have a couple of years left still till we are blessed with the presence of Granger-Weasleys at this school."

"Well, yes, but she said that Victoire's parents are in France with the rest of their children at the moment and that she believed it was a matter of some urgency. She is Victoire's godmother. Will you see her?"

He nodded. "If I must."

"Thank you. I'll Floo her to let her know."

Severus turned to his breakfast, wondering. He didn't see why William or Fleur Weasley couldn't come back from France to see him if it really was that urgent. It wasn't like they were restricted to Muggle means of travel. And Victoire Weasley was actually a rather good student, for a Gryffindor anyway. So he didn't know about any problems that should be discussed. She seemed in too good spirits to be a victim of bullying or anything of the sort, so...he was almost curious.

And perhaps he was a little curious about Hermione Weasley, too. He saw her once a year on Victory Day, but _saw her_ described the situation quite accurately. He never talked to her – there was no reason – and never came in any other kind of contact with her during the year. The last time he actually talked to her was probably some time during her sixth year at Hogwarts. Even though he hadn't been able to admit it at the time, she had been one of the most promising students he had had. At first he had been disappointed when he heard she went to work in law, but in the end he'd realized that she didn't really have what it took to be an academic. She was very clever, but in the intellectual sphere she always followed the established rules. She wouldn't have done well in research. It was interesting, since she certainly didn't have any problems with breaking the established rules of society...but that was human character for you, he supposed. She was well suited for law.

Even more surprising was her marriage. Not the fact that she married Weasley per se – everybody had seen that one coming from miles away. But Severus never expected it to last. They were too different, in his opinion, and the only thing they had in common were experiences from school, which surely couldn't be enough to build a marriage on. Not that Severus was an expert in the area – he wasn't, which was confirmed by the fact that he had been wrong. The youngest Weasleys had been married for about ten years now, as far as he knew, and he was sure that if there had been any problems, the Prophet would have found out and reported. But still, it was a mystery. As little as he knew her, he was following her career in the papers and she was one of the few people he respected, actually, and Ronald Weasley most emphatically did not belong in that select group.

Classes that day were as depressing as usual. The students weren't any cleverer in the new term than they had been in the last one; not that he'd expected otherwise. Ted Lupin almost managed to get killed after tripping during a duel in the morning class, which was entirely to be expected, of course. Severus dreaded the day Longbottom's children would be starting school.

The meeting with Hermione Weasley was arranged for 7 pm, so he got through his dinner fairly quickly and spent the remaining time correcting homework from the break. She came on time, just as he'd expected.

He opened the door and took in her visage. She was wearing quality robes of navy blue, and she looked like seriousness itself. He nodded in greeting: "Mrs. Weasley."

"Professor Snape."

"Please, do come in," he stepped aside and directed her to the chair in front of his desk, sitting down himself. "Take a seat. What can I do for you?"

"Thank you. As I'm sure Minerva told you, I'm here because of Victoire. I'm afraid my request is a rather unusual one. You are surely aware that she doesn't have any problems with grades, so that cannot be my reason."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you," he said politely, "but I need to know whether I actually have the right to tell you anything, since you're not a parent."

"Well, I am a godmother; and I won't be really asking you anything, more telling you. You see, the real reason why I'm here instead of Victoire's parents is that she sometimes tells me things she doesn't tell them. We're very close, and she spent the last two days of the break with me, and we talked. Do you remember that she was a Hatstall during her Sorting?"

"Yes, I do."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "What you naturally cannot know is what house the hat considered. Well, it was Slytherin." Severus raised an eyebrow. "Exactly," she continued. "She panicked completely. The Hat was almost sure it wanted to send her there. She told me she spent the five minutes or how long she was there by begging it to reconsider and put her in Gryffindor. He granted her her wish at last, admitting that she wasn't precisely a coward so it wasn't impossible, but insisted she would have done much better in Slytherin. And it's been eating her from inside ever since." She paused. "Now, I don't know how much you know Bill, but you should know he's one of the least prejudiced Weasleys. He never said she had to be in Gryffindor. But neither he nor his wife are particularly good at dealing with emotional insecurities, and so they never took time to explain that it truly didn't matter in which house she ended up. And the rest of the Weasleys was pretty clear on their wishes. It wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't the first of the new generation, and if she didn't by her name and date of birth symbolize the victory over Voldemort, but as it is...well. And now she's in Gryffindor. She doesn't precisely have a problem with her House mates, but she hasn't managed to really connect to any of them. She has acquaintances she can have fun with, but she doesn't have friends. And this is a boarding school...it doesn't bode well for the next seven years. She needs some friends. And she is still wondering whether she is evil, or why is it that the Hat wanted to put her in Slytherin. The situation is not very good for her."

Severus admitted he was confused. If it wasn't Hermione Weasley he was dealing with, he would think it was some misguided attempt to cry at his shoulder, but this woman usually knew what she was doing, from what he knew about her. "Even though I agree that it is not ideal, I confess I do not see what you want me to do."

She sighed. "Well...the main thing, I believe, is try and explain to her that Slytherin isn't evil. I used you heavily as an example of a good Slytherin, naturally, but she seemed to think that you were sorted there by some sort of mistake, and that you really belonged in Gryffindor." Severus shuddered, and Mrs. Weasley smiled. "I tried to explain how wrong she was, but naturally, my credibility is limited by the fact that I am not you, and she doesn't have to believe me when I described to her your Slytherin traits, and how good they can be. So, if you could do this for her, I'd be very grateful. And...well, it would be very good if she actually managed to meet someone from Slytherin. But I know I might well be asking too much of you here, just...if there was an option such as pairing her with someone from Slytherin in some extra-curricular activity or...something, anything, really." She shook her head. "I know I'm really overstepping the boundaries of what I can ask of you here, but I just want to help her so much..."

Severus watched Mrs. Weasley silently for a moment, thinking of his own Hogwarts years, and then said: "I'll do what I can."

She smiled brightly at him. "Oh, thank you! You see...I know what it was like not to fit in at Hogwarts, and I don't want her to go through that."

Severus nodded. He was curious, though, and couldn't resist. "You said you described my Slytherin traits, and what advantages they presented. If I may ask what you said, so that I know what to work with..."

Still smiling, she replied: "Oh, certainly. Mainly I talked about how good it is to be able to think before you act, because you're less likely to unwillingly," she stressed the word slightly, "hurt someone else's feelings or get yourself in trouble, and if you need to punish someone for something, you're more able to be calm about it and plan it well, and thus actually be successful...while at the same time you're not a Ravenclaw, who might be clever, but usually not very socially and emotionally clever...I said that being Slytherin usually meant uniting all kinds of intelligence, and that even though you were forced by your role in the war to use it mainly to create a negative image of yourself, it still served you well...I also said it was good to be able to hide your emotions, so that people who didn't like you couldn't use them to hurt you...and of course I talked about how important ambitions were, and how you could have never invented all those potions and spells if you weren't ambitious, since it was hardly a matter of immediate inspiration and no hard work behind them... That's about it, I think."

Severus was astonished. "You didn't mention that it enabled me to be a spy?" He'd expected it to be the main thing she would mention. Hell, it would be the main think _he_ would mention! Even though he had admittedly never been good at '10 good things about yourself', he certainly didn't expect ex-Gryffindor Muggleborns with past history with him to be able to say anything good about him, apart from his being a spy.

"Well, it rather falls under the more general heading of 'people who don't like you can't use your emotions to hurt you'...I confess I didn't want to mention it specifically because, well, it was useful, certainly, but being a spy wasn't particularly good for you, was it? And I don't imagine Victoire would be thinking of that career."

"I should hope not." He was still staring.

"What is it?" She asked, a bit self-consciously.

"I'm simply surprised that any member of the Golden Trio can see some upsides to their most hated House."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not Harry or Ron, and I'm no longer sixteen either. Even Harry did grow up in this respect, so I almost find it insulting you'd think I wouldn't."

He simply couldn't help it. He had to ask. "And you husband?" He said, the eyebrow raised again.

Mrs. Weasley laughed. "Well, he is a bit difficult in this respect, but I hope I can circumvent his influence on the children."

Severus did manage to swallow the next question. It would have been outright rude. However, she must have gotten good at reading people in her job, and admittedly, he wasn't trying that hard in a talk with a concerned godparent. She was no Voldemort, after all, and the worst that could happen was that she'd get offended, which was no tragedy in a person he never talked to anyway. But whatever the reason, something must have registered with her, because she remarked: "Just ask whatever you want to, I don't mind."

"It isn't my place, Mrs. Weasley."

"I just asked you for something that was way beyond duties of a teacher, and you agreed. I really don't care about your place at the moment."

"Well, then...I was wondering whether such a character trait in your husband doesn't bother you." He could see in her eyes that she knew he was actually asking about much more than a simple dislike of Slytherin.

She sighed. "It's complicated. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to get out of telling you, but are you sure you really want to hear it? It won't be short. Are you that interested in my personal life?"

Severus considered. At the face of it, no, of course he wasn't. But he had nothing better to do, and listening to Mrs. Weasley talk was actually rather pleasant. She was reasonable. It might be interesting not to be alone for his birthday for once, and if she stayed long enough, they might get to other, more interesting topics. And he was curious.

"Oddly enough, I am. But since we're not in a parent-teacher situation anymore, would you accept an invitation for a glass of wine in a bit more comfortable surroundings?"

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, why not. Let me just send Patronus to Ron." The silver mist flew away, and he opened the door to his private quarters to her, and chose one of the bottles he got for his birthday.

He poured two glasses, and after they raised them and drank to their fallen comrades, she smiled at him and said: "And since we're not in a parent-teacher situation anymore, would you consent to calling me Hermione?"

He thought about it, and then inclined his head. "Severus."

Her smile brightened. "And now back to Ron," she said. "I get that question quite a lot, or rather the question you actually wanted to ask. Funnily enough, often from people who are no cleverer or more intellectual than he is, just more pretentious. From you, it at least makes sense." She paused and took a sip of her wine. "I think there are simply two different approaches to relationship. Either you're mostly looking for someone like you, or for someone different. Of course there have to be some similarities, but some prefer more, some less. I cannot actually say what I prefer. You have to realize there was never really a question of going for similarities, not for me. Because the main similarity I needed was that it had to be someone who was involved in the war. As you very well know, it changes people and I simply couldn't as much as date, let alone marry, someone who was still...well, innocent. And there just wasn't anyone...well, let's say it plainly. There wasn't anyone as clever as I was in the Order or the DA, or at least, not anyone remotely close to me in age. And I genuinely love Ron. I tend to take myself and life too seriously, and he helps me with that. He reminds me to play sometimes. If I had children with someone like me, I'd have to pity them, really. So, Ron is good for me in many ways. I have simply accepted that he is not as clever as I am. He is not dumb, you know – I couldn't deal with that. Just lazy to think and not interested in intellectual things, and yes, a bit less intelligent. But there are pros to these cons, as I've said. I considered this for a very long time before I agreed to marry him, and I decided that it was worth it. He doesn't understand many things I love, but you don't necessarily have to have that in a relationship. You can go elsewhere for that companionship."

There was a subtle change in her tone when she said the last sentence, and Severus asked: "And do you?"

She smiled sadly. "You caught me out. No, I don't. People at work are very clever, but none of them are intellectual. I cannot talk to them about books or art or science. Sometimes, I talk to Minerva, but she is very busy in her job, naturally; and there is a huge age gap that makes it more complicated. So, no, I admit I didn't count on not finding anyone to share this side of my life with when I was deciding whether to marry Ron. I do get rather lonely sometimes, in this respect. But I still don't think I made a mistake."

They were silent for a moment, than Severus said: "You spoke very candidly about the difference between you. Does your husband realize all this?"

"Oh yes, he is perfectly aware of it. It used to bother him, but it doesn't anymore. He got to know me more intimately – on the psychological level," she emphasized, "- and realized how insecure and faulted I really am, and that helped him deal with his own inferiority complex, I think."

There was another silence, and then it was Hermione's turn to ask a question: "You're being very polite this evening. Without meaning any offense, I just wanted to ask whether you are in a particularly good mood, or whether you changed so much since the war."

Severus appreciated her honesty. She saw his good character traits – even more of them than he did, really – but at the same time didn't pretend he wasn't a bitter, unpleasant man. "I think," he said, "that rather, what changed is our relationship. You're no longer a student, and I don't see you next to Mr. Potter. And you changed, too."

She smiled. "I should hope so. I'd hate to be seventeen forever."

He nodded emphatically.

She continued: "I suppose it is easier to take me seriously now, isn't it?"

He nodded again. "Even though I do wonder why you have been so open with me," he added. "That doesn't seem in accord with your sensible nature, although I'm not complaining – it was interesting talking to you."

"I like answering this question whenever someone asks it. I detest the idea that people believe I live frustrated in an unhappy marriage or that I'm stupid and don't realize the differences. And I must say you've been more understanding than most people."

"Well, most people are idiots."

"True."

Another silence, then Severus again: "How come you're Victoire Weasley's godmother? I didn't know you were particularly close with either William or Fleur Weasley."

She shook her head. "I'm not. It's because of the victory symbolism again. If it had been a boy, it would have been Harry, and since I'm the most prominent female figure from the war, it ended up being me. I'm really glad, though. Victoria and I have a lot in common. I think I'm actually hoping I'll raise her to be the intellectual companion I miss so much."

"That will take quite a bit of time."

"Yes. Even though I think she'd be inclined to squee if she saw this," she gestured to his library, "already at her tender age of eleven."

He smiled a very small smile. "Do you want to take a look?"

She stood up immediately, and he made the light shine brighter, so that it was easier to read the backs of the books. She was very excited by some pieces in his collection, and they ended up taking out an ancient text about the use of Arithmancy in Potions and discussing it for some time.

When the discussion finally concluded, she sighed happily. "God, I missed this!" She hesitated, then turned to him. "I don't want to presume too much, but...would you consider accepting an invitation to our house in turn some time?

It was his turn to hesitate, and she immediately guessed the reason. "Don't worry, when I tell Ron who's coming, he will gladly take the children and go to some of his relations for the evening. I want to talk about academics, I wouldn't make him sit through that."

"In that case...I'd be glad to accept."

He was rewarded by another of her bright smiles.

A short while later, she realized it was almost midnight, and bid him goodbye. The clock started to chime just as he closed the door behind her.

He went to bed in a very thoughtful state of mind that night. It just seemed that he got another, unexpected birthday present this year, and it might actually be the best one he ever received.

_A different ending occurred to me, but I didn't want to use it because I wanted poor Severus to have a really nice birthday without anything to spoil it. I might post it later as a second chapter, as happening later in their friendship._


	2. 9th July

_I don't own a thing, as all of you would know, if you weren't such dunderheads._

-H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S-

Severus Snape stepped out of the fire into warm summer sun. His eyes landed on Hermione Weasley, who was at the moment setting down the book she'd been reading, and smiling at him in welcome.

"Hello, Severus."

"Good afternoon, Hermione. Are you reading junk again?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "It's no junk. You should try Muggle literature sometime, it's great for relaxing. It might not contain precisely revolutionary thoughts, but it's fun to read and he works great with various cultural references..."

"_Muggle_ cultural references."

"Well, it's usually high culture, so you'd catch most of them...this book, for example, draws heavily on Shakespeare."

"In that case, why read it if I can go straight to the Bard himself?"

Hermione rolled her eyes again. "You're incorrigible. Would you like some tea?"

"It would be lovely."

She went to the kitchen, followed by Severus. "How's Professor Flitwick managing under his new workload?" She asked from her preparations.

"I believe he's doing just fine."

"I sort of feel guilty for coming up with my improvement ideas right when he's going to be new to the job...don't take me wrong, I really appreciate your help with planning it, but...I made the transition more difficult for Flitwick."

Severus leaned on the doorframe. "I wouldn't be so sure. He's thrilled by the idea, and after all, the initial stages were still done mainly by Minerva. She prepared the curriculum and hired the teachers. He is sensibly taking it step by step – it'll be just Languages and Artefacts next year, and if it works, Geography, Literature and Personages the year after that. It does make preparing the timetables a bit more complicated, but Minerva is helping him with that, so I don't believe it's such a strain after all."

"But still. And I'm sure many people think I only did it for Victoire. I don't deny I want a good education for her, but it was done for everybody's benefit, really...even though part of _is_ that there are my children to think of." She smiled a little. "Rose would never forgive me if I didn't ensure she got the best possible education, I'm sure of that already."

"So I'm to prepare myself for another know-it-all in a couple of years?"

Hermione's smile broadened and she turned to him, leaning on the counter. "Yes, even though I don't think she'll be as obnoxious as I was. She doesn't have the Muggle-born inferiority complex I had. She'll just be a pleasant, clever girl," the proud mother finished, even though she was laughing.

"And your son?"

"It's much too early to judge in Hugo's case. I can certainly tell he's intelligent, but then, Ron isn't stupid either, just not intellectual, so our son is bound to be clever. We will see what comes of it."

"Would your husband mind if both of your children took so much after you?"

Hermione turned her back to him to pour the tea, considering. "No, I don't think he would. Rose isn't my copy either. As long as he can see something of him in them, I don't believe he'd mind if they both were intellectual."

The tea preparations finished, they returned to the living room. "You should meet my children some time, really." Hermione added, sitting down. "I think you'd like Rose."

Severus was silent.

"Oh, I know," she said, "seeing them involves seeing Ron, so that he could take them away later. But I'm sure you could manage for a couple of minutes..."

"Could he?" Severus asked drily, sitting next to her on the sofa.

"Good question. Yes, I think he could...for a couple of minutes." She smirked.

They took first sips of their tea, and Hermione changed the topic.

"Have you read the new Starkey?"

"No, not yet. I've been mostly focusing on my own research."

Hermione mock-scowled at him. "Don't make me jealous."

He smirked. "You choose your path."

She sighed in response. "I know, and I'm content with it...mostly. The worst moments come precisely when a book like the new Starkey comes out. Then I always think, this could have been my life...this could have been my book..."

"It couldn't have, and you know it."

She actually stuck out her tongue at him. "You're just determined to be irritating today, aren't you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Today?"

That earned him another eyeroll. "Actually," Hermione continued in a more serious tone, "I wanted your advice on something in there."

"Oh, of course. I should have known you wouldn't have asked me just for my charming company."

"Yes, that's just me. I'm simply one of the worst opportunists ever to walk the earth."

"Well, you _are_ a lawyer."

Hermione snorted. "Right. Not that most of the Ministry doesn't wish it wasn't so. But anyway, back to my problem. I've been pondering it for weeks now, and I simply have to know the answer." She picked up a book lying on a table by the sofa, and quickly browsed through it to find the page she needed. "Here it is. He's dealing with Veritaserum here, and this is the basic Arithmantic formula for it. That's clear enough, obviously. What I simply don't get is how he arrived at the modification for pregnant women. He simply assumes it makes perfect sense and moves on to the things he's really concentrating on, his little theories and improvements, but I can't possibly follow if I don't get the pregnancy modification of the formula. So I figured you could help here..."

"Let me see..." Severus moved closer to her and she angled the book so that he had a better view. "Yes, that's the pregnancy formula all right, I recognize it...but I confess that since I never work with it, I didn't bother to try and see the Arithmantic logic behind it...that's not my field, after all...so, what exactly do you think is wrong with it?"

"Well...what is number three doing there? One of its main functions is communication, Severus. I know it's a very powerful number, but just...not for this. What he's trying to do, obviously, is to prevent communication, in a way – he wants the potion to affect only the mother, not the child. So...what it the number three doing there?"

"What would you expect there instead?"

"Anything, really. Well, perhaps not one. But...eight, or six. Four, even. Two, certainly. Not three."

"Perhaps it's just there to balance it out?"

"That would have to be in a different place altogether, at the end of the formula...this is in the very centre of it, and just don't see how that can work..."

Severus though, stared at the book, and though some more. "Perhaps the tarot..." he tried in the end.

"I thought of that, but it doesn't work either...maybe if it was an antidote targeted specifically at women...but making the woman stronger won't help us here, not just that anyway, we need to create a barrier between her and the child..."

There was a long silence, as they both pondered the problem.

Suddenly, Severus raised his head. "Hermione," he said, and sounded excited. Her head shot up. For him to be actually excited, he must have realized something pretty major.

"Our assumptions were wrong...and not just about the Veritaserum, I'd bet...they're not trying to isolate the child in modifications for pregnant women... they're doing the exact opposite! They're trying to bring the two in perfect harmony, so that the effects were simultaneous and there wasn't any gap created between them...they're actually aiming at as much connection as possible...it's not the Veritaserum itself that could harm the child, it's the difference in time when they'd be under its influence. It would get much later to the child, and that would be dangerous...we've been looking at it from the wrong perspective!"

Hermione was staring at him in admiration, her eyes shining. She couldn't help it, sometimes she was simply overcome by how brilliant this man was. She'd spent weeks on this, and he saw it almost immediately, even though she was sure he never worked with any modifications for pregnant women, and knew for a fact he wasn't all that good in Arithmancy.

She gave in to her instincts and hugged him.

A moment later, she realized very acutely that it had been a mistake. One of the biggest she ever made, possibly.

It was meant to be a friendly hug. A happy, spontaneous thing, expressing her joy. But the moment she touched him, it was impossible not to feel the rush. Her breath caught. Some barrier was broken by that touch, and all sorts of emotions were flowing to the surface. She froze, took a deep breath and used all of her will to make herself slowly pull back, at least a little. They looked at each other for a long time, eye to eye. Then she said very quietly, "I think you should go now."

She saw his face transform into a cool mask, his eyes Occluding, and closed her own eyes in pain. When she opened them a short moment later, he was halfway to the fireplace.

"Severus..." she whispered. He stopped, not looking at her, and she took a deep breath. "I wouldn't tell this to anyone else in such a situation, because it is unwise and dangerous, but I believe you need to hear it. I..." she paused. "I want to. Very much so. At the moment, I feel like there is nothing in the world I want more." She was pressing her hands together so hard she was sure she'd have bruises later, but she continued. "I am very attracted to you. I admire your intellect, your knowledge, your wit...I'm drawn to it. It is what I renounced when I decided to marry Ron, and right now I feel like a thirsty woman in a desert, and you are an oasis to me. I cannot express how much I desire right now to..." she stopped herself. Saying it aloud in any detail could well be her undoing. But still, there was something that needed to be stated clearly. "Look at me." He turned around and locked his burning eyes with hers. "I want you, Severus." She could see how he was fighting with himself to stay where he was, across the room from her. She was almost at the end of her capacities for self-control too, but she needed to finish this. "But none of this," she continued, "changes anything about the fact that I love Ron, and I don't love him any less for it. He is my husband. I gave him my promise, and I'm not going to break it. I wouldn't do it to him. I wouldn't do it to myself. I could never look in a mirror again if I did. I want you and admire you and am attracted to you, but Ron is my life. It doesn't mean I don't care about you, but only one person can be my first priority, and it is Ron. I could have been you, very likely, had I met you first...but I haven't." She paused, and then finished: "I'm sure I can handle this, but I'm really, deeply sorry for making it so very difficult for you."

He nodded stiffly, threw some Floo powder and disappeared in the fire.

Hermione kept staring at it till her husband and children came back in the morning.

-H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S—H—S-

_It felt right to end the chapter here, which means there's going to be another one. _

_I'm sure you can see why I didn't want to give this to Severus on his birthday._


	3. 9ths

_Insufferable know-it-alls such as yourselves surely know that I don't own anything._

* * *

><p><em>9th August<em>

„So, are you looking forward to your second year?" Hermione Weasley asked her goddaughter, who was staying with her at the moment. Her husband rolled his eyes at the question. "It's the middle of holidays," he muttered under his breath.

Victoire ignored him and nodded enthusiastically. "I mean," she said, "last year was a bit awkward, at least at the beginning, and it takes time to get used to Hogwarts and all that...but I'm sure the second year will be perfect!" She paused. "Don't you think? How was _your_ second year?"

"Well, I wouldn't precisely say it was perfect, seeing that I ended up petrified..."

Ron snorted, and Victoire looked surprised. "Oh, that was your second year? I thought that was later."

Rose looked up from her dinner and started to explain. "No," she said seriously, "that was in Mummy's second year. In her third, it was Sirius. And then it started with Voldemort."

Victoire rolled her eyes, but Hermione beamed at her daughter. "I see your memory is as good as mine ever was." She turned back to the older girl. "It was really my second year, but I don't think that's terribly likely to happen to you – Harry _did_ kill the basilisk, after all – and apart from that, my second year certainly was better than the first one."

"I can't wait for the new subjects, too," Victoire continued.

Rose frowned at her cousin. "That's in third year," she reminded.

"I know," Victoire snapped. "But I'll be choosing this year."

"Do you know which ones are you going to take?" Hermione asked pleasantly, exchanging a look with Ron. Rose absolutely adored Victoire, but the blonde was in the difficult age at the moment and was sometimes rather unkind to her little admirer.

"Not really," came the reply. "I know it won't be Divination or Care of Magical Creatures, but what will it be...well probably not Muggle Studies, I can ask you anything I need...and I'm not that interested in Runes or Languages...but that still leaves me with Arithmancy, Artifacts, Literature, Geography and Personages," she recited proudly to show that she remembered. "Can I really only take two?"

"You can take more, depending on your timetable, but you have to pick two next year...pick the ones you want to study most, to make sure you'll really get them, and then you'll see about the rest," Hermione replied from where she was wiping Hugo's mouth with a napkin.

"But it's so difficult! You didn't have to pick."

"Yes, and it was a great mistake to allow me the use of the timeturner. I'm very glad they don't do it anymore."

Victoire looked petulant. "You're evil," she declared.

"No, I just remember I almost broke down that year. So, which two is it going to be?"

"Probably Arithmancy and Artifacts. But I don't know yet."

"Well, that's quite all right. You have another half a year to decide."

Dinner finished, Victoire and Hermione sat down in the living room while Ron went out with Hugo and Rose to fly. "Anything else in particular you're looking forward to, apart from picking new subjects?"

"Well, the duelling club. I wasn't allowed last year, as a first year, but Professor Snape said..."

Hermione managed not to flinch, but it was a close thing. Professor Snape indeed. There was nothing but Severus on her mind during the month since she'd last seen him, and talking to Victorie was one of the few things that served to direct her thoughts elsewhere...until she was reminded. She closed her eyes briefly, and immediately the image of his face inches from hers appeared behind her eyelids. She gritted her teeth. She knew she'd get over it, but it was bloody irritating having to deal with it at all. Everything seemed to be connected to him somehow – the books she read, the things she dealt with at work, and now Victooire...she longed to share it with him, ask his opinion, explain her own...clenching her fists, she turned back to her goddaughter and asked: "I'm sure duelling club will be great. Any other plans?"

"Well, I'll be continuing Astronomy Club, of course..."

* * *

><p><em>9th September<em>

_Dear Aunt,_

_Second year is mostly as great as I expected it to be. There was an incident - I messed up in Potions yesterday and Marianne was making fun of me, saying I was no Gryffindor if I couldn't do Potions. So I told her Professor Snape used to teach Potions, so it's not as Gryffindor a subject as she apparently thinks, and that shut her right up (sorry for the language). I hope you're proud of me._

_We had the first meeting of the Duelling Club on Thursday, too, and it was perfect. Professor Snape paired up with the new Charms teacher, Professor Montague, and showed us some really advanced duelling. It was pretty impressive, they were moving so fast I almost couldn't see them. Professor Snape won, not that I expected anything else. I mean, he was in the war and poor Professor Montague can't be more than about twenty-five, she just doesn't have his experiences. But she was still very good._

_Professor Montague is great in normal classes too, even though she's very different from Professor Flitwick. She somehow seems to make the subject much more serious than he did. She's so pretty, too! I wish Professor Snape and her would get together. I think they'd be a great couple._

_Say hello to Uncle and Hugo and Rose from me,_

_Victoire_

Hermione stared at the letter, blinking slowly. Professor Montague. Pretty Professor Montague. She had no idea what the woman looked like, but if she was young and pretty...and from what Severus told her before, when they were still talking to each other, the new Charms teacher was an ex-Slytherin...

Hermione caught herself. She was being absurd. How can she possibly be jealous when she was _married_, and she rejected Severus? Actually, she considered, if he and Montague really did get together, that would be for the best. It would make seeing Severus again some time in the future much easier. Hmm...was there any way to discretely ask Victoire if there were any signs? Probably not.

Hermione was distracted from her thoughts by a loud shout, and looked around in time to see Rose smacking Hugo over his head with a wooden bowl. "Rose!" She shouted.

"But Mummy, Hugo was hitting me before..."

"Even if he was, you're older and supposed to be more reasonable. Don't do that again, young lady, or I shall be very cross with you." She turned to crying Hugo and said sternly: "Have you been hitting your sister?"

"No, Mummy," he sniffed. Hermione kept looking at him. "Just once time," he amended.

"Now, I though I told you hitting other people is wrong, and especially hitting girls, haven't I?"

"Yes, Mummy."

"You will both go to your rooms and think about it till I tell you that you can leave."

"But Mummy," Rose whined, "Dad promised we'd go flying today...he said he'd take me to a real Quidditch pitch..."

"You should have thought about that before you hit your brother. Now, go."

She watched them to make sure they obeyed, then sighted and began to clean after breakfast. Just then, Ron appeared in the kitchen. "Anything left for me?" He asked.

Hermione smiled at him and presented him with the rest of bacon. "Do you want sausages?"

"Well, if you could..."

Hermione nodded and turned to the stove, still smiling. She liked their opulent breakfasts during the weekends...on weekdays, there wasn't enough time.

While she worked, her mind drifted back to Severus. It was better now, she reflected. She still though about him a lot, but it wasn't as painful as before, and she could concentrate on her work again. She wondered how long it would take until she could see him. She had to wait till she was all right, and then some, probably. She fully realized it must be much more difficult for him. She had Ron to keep the worst at bay, and fortunately enough, there weren't any truly unpleasant rows in the last two months to temp her to consider whether she wouldn't have been happier with Severus. Her husband's smiles, and jokes, and love, and touches were keeping her priorities in order. She just hoped it hadn't got out of control on Severus's side. She was well aware this was no love of the century, just a bit of attraction, both physical and...well, psychical, but the question was, did he know this? Without wanting to presume too much, she supposed he didn't have all that many experiences in the romantic department, and she'd really, really hate it if he turned her into another Lily in his head. She just had to hope it wouldn't happen.

Sighing, she turned off the stove and served the sausages to her husband.

* * *

><p><em>9th October<em>

"What do you mean, they aren't sure?" Hermione asked in her deadliest voice.

"Well," her senior undersecretary gulped, "you see, they did go to talk to the centaurs, they really did..."

"But?"

"But the centaurs weren't exactly friendly, you see, and so they deemed it better to retreat...er..."

"And why," Hermione enquired quietly, "wouldn't the centaurs be friendly? How exactly did they approach them?"

"I wouldn't know that, would I," the undersecretary muttered.

"No indeed, Mr. Gamp, you wouldn't. That is why I don't understand why you haven't brought the leader of the negotiating team with you when you came to present me with the report."

"Well, I suggested it to her, but she was rather unwilling."

"You...suggested it to her." Hermione closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Mr. Gamp, I understand you are new to this position," and she was never going to forgive Xenia Figg for leaving for maternity leave, since she was stuck with this moron instead, "but you were Junior Undersecretary before that. Surely you realize that in your position, you do not suggest. You request. Just as I now request you to bring Miss Nettles to me this instant."

Hermione shook her head. _Honestly_. Her subordinates were such...well, such dunderheads. Severus really did have the right of it, most people were just that. Amused, she realized she was probably channelling him through most of the exchange. Oh well. His methods work. And she liked thinking about him, now that she was hopefully quite over that little embarrassing...thing. Not that she missed him any less for it, but she wasn't obsessively thinking about him all the time anymore, to her great relief. But it was simply impossible not to remember him when dealing with idiots. She snorted. That sounded like a real compliment. Severus would have been impressed.

She turned when the door to her office opened. "Miss Nettles," she said sweetly, smiling, "tell me about your visit to the centaurs."

Oh no. She was channelling Umbridge now.

* * *

><p><em>9th November<em>

It was late in the evening and Hermione was sitting on the sofa in her living room, reading a book and leaning on Ron, who was working on some reports for work. Suddenly, he turned to her and asked: "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to Snape?"

She tore her eyes from the book, worried that there was something about him in the report. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he hasn't been here for ages. Has he slipped back to his bastard persona or what?"

Hermione closed her book. This was going to take a while. "No, not exactly," she said slowly. "We just decided it would be prudent if we didn't see each other for a time."

"Why?" Hermione just kept looking at him. "Oh, Merlin...did he make a pass at you?"

"Not precisely. No, that's definitely not how I'd describe it."

"Then what?"

"It wasn't really him making a pass at me...it was more like...a mutual realization that there are, on both sides, emotions which aren't right, and that we need some time to sort it out privately."

Ron was staring. After what seemed like a very long time, he asked uncertainly: "You were attracted to Snape?"

Hermione smiled a little and took his hand. "I know it's probably difficult to imagine, but Ron, without meaning the slightest offence, he is precisely what you aren't."

"I'd say so," Ron said weakly.

"Remember how you told me, when you proposed to me, that you knew there were many areas of my life which you simply couldn't understand? Well, he can. That was the base for our friendship, of course, but there was also that dangerous aspect which...well, you're an Auror, but I went to school with you. You're my adorable and funny Ron, but you simply don't represent any kind of danger to me. He does, in a way – even though he's a good guy, he was a Death Eater once, after all – and that added the unwanted edge to it, I think. But don't worry, I'm quite past it now."

"Do you want to see him again, sometime?" He still sounded rather uncertain.

"I'd really love to renew our friendship, but I'm waiting a little longer because of him. I know I could see him without any danger now, but it must be more difficult for him...he doesn't have you."

"And thank Merlin for that, I didn't need that disturbing image," Ron added. "Besides, getting over you must be almost impossible, so I'm quite sorry for the poor guy, really."

Hermione smiled. "You've come a long way, Ron," she said. "You'd have absolutely freaked out if this happened ten years ago."

He smiled ruefully. "I know. I used to be really stupid. Really, what's to freak out about? You rejected him for me."

"You would have been suspicious and wondered whether I haven't slept with him, once," Hermione teased.

"Yes. As I said, I used to be stupid – even though Snape would definitely raise his eyebrow at the 'used to'. But it's true. It would be completely absurd to be suspicious – you told me about hic visits openly before, and we were always away with the kids for the night. You could have done anything you wanted without ever telling me anything. Of course I trust you."

"I love you so much, Ron."

It was a good thing the kids were already in bed, really.

* * *

><p><em>9th December<em>

Hermione frowned at her desk. She wasn't sure if the time was right already, but she always felt that before Christmas, one should not only tidy up the house, but also one's personal matters, so that the holidays could really be peaceful. And so she resolutely picked up a quill and a parchment and wrote:

_Severus,_

_When shall we two meet again?_

_Hermione_

She was nervous all day, twitchy, really, and Ron had to take the children out for a snow fight because she was constantly snapping at them. She shot him an apologetic look as they were leaving, and he just smiled encouragingly. He knew she'd written to Severus, and wished her good luck before shutting the door behind them.

Finally, in the evening, the nervously anticipated owl arrived. After reading the reply, Hermione laughed out loud in sheer happiness and plopped down on the sofa, a bright smile on her face.

The reply said:

_Hermione,_

_Well, I can do next Tuesday._

_Severus._

* * *

><p><em>For all intends and purposes, this is the end. Very likely, there will be another chapter next January 9th, and hopefully years after that, to remember Severus' birthdays, but the plotline – such as it was – is complete now; the next ones will be only loosely connected. They will be about meetings of Hermione and Severus, year after year, but no more hints of romance.<em>

_Hermione was misquoting Macbeth in her missive. Severus was quoting Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett in his, which is also the book Hermione was reading in the previous chapter. Thumbs up to everyone who caught it, as well as to everyone who caught the reference to Draco and the Malfoys._


	4. 9th January 2013

A bit late – sorry for that. Happy belated 53rd birthday, Severus!

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For a wizard who is fifty-three, I'm pretty decrepit, Severus thought as he was getting out of bed. Long-term exposure to Cruciatus simply wasn't good for one's health. Maybe they should put up a warning sign, like the ones the Muggles have on cigarette packs sometimes, as Hermione told him. Hermione. Now there was a thought to make the day a bit brighter. She'd stop by in the evening, she promised, to "celebrate" (though he still insisted he didn't know what was to celebrate about getting a year older). He hadn't seen her since the beginning of December, and even though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he missed her. Looking at his bedside table, he performed his yearly ritual of incinerating the birthday cards and proceeded to unwrap those presents that actually made some sense. New books for his collection were always welcome.

As the day proceeded, he was looking forward to the evening more and more. The Gryffindors seemed to decide to balance the pleasant company of the single intelligence member of their house by being even more insufferable than usual. Ted Lupin got a girlfriend over the holidays, and it seemed he couldn't go a second without at least holding her hand. He paired with her for duelling, too, and was unwilling to send a single curse her way, sending soppy looks in its stead. In the second year, part of the class found jelly-legs jinx extremely funny for some reason, and couldn't be made to seriously think about its uses in a fight. The only thing that distracted him during that disaster was the disgusted and embarrassed look on Victoire Weasley's face. That girl really was in the wrong house.

When he arrived to dinner, Juliette Montague turned to him with her eyebrows raised and asked: "Can you please explain why did most of my Gryffindor second-year class have jelly legs this afternoon?" ad he felt like taking a leaf out of Umbridge's book and only making the students read in his classes.

Hermione's knocking on the door to his chambers was all the more welcome to him after that. She smiled brightly when he opened the door, and thrust a bottle of excellent elf-made wine at him. He went straight to open in, and she entered and closed the door behind her. "Happy birthday, Severus," she said, and when he turned around, there was a gift-wrapped package on his table. He set the glasses down and pulled the ribbon. Underneath was a beautiful Potions encyclopaedia he remembered mentioning some time ago. If he recalled correctly, his words were "I'd buy it if it wasn't so ridiculously overpriced". He smirked now.

"It's good to see that the Ministry officials, paid by our taxes, have so much money to spare. Perhaps some salary cuts are in order?" But then he smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. For your information, even if you cut my salary, I could still buy encyclopaedias like this from the Educational Fund, so there's no helping it."

"...and give it to your acquaintances as gifts?"

"If said acquaintances are Hogwarts professors? You bet."

They sat down to their glasses and drank to Severus' health, and as usual, to their fallen comrades. The combination was a bit macabre, he reflected.

She Hermione looked at him and asked, with a sparkle in her eyes: "So, Juliette Montague?"

He was confused. "What do you mean?"

She laughed. "Victoire keeps writing home how she adores Professor Montague – she is obviously quite over her Slytherin prejudice now – and how the two of you would be perfect together."

Severus rolled his eyes. "You know, I used to consider your goddaughter quite intelligent, but now..." He shook his head. "Juliette is so not my type. And even if she was, I'm certainly not hers."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Severus put up his hand. "For once, this is not my realistic assessment of myself speaking, but the knowledge of her preferences. I quite like her company, though I wouldn't go as far as to call us friends, and so I know a bit about it. She very decidedly prefers younger men."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "How much younger? Should she be teaching?"

"Don't worry, she wouldn't do anything questionable, she doesn't want to lose this position. At the same time, though, it is the main reason she does teach here. I assure that a woman with her...qualities...could be doing many other things."

"Thank you. You make me feel quite jealous and inferior."

Severus shot her one look, and Hermione blushed. "Sorry, I didn't...I mean..." Damn, she though. Precisely the topic I wanted to avoid. She didn't quite know how to get out of the uncomfortable situation, but fortunately, Severus did.

"It's all right," he said, "you don't have to guard every word in front of me. It I wasn't sure about this, I wouldn't have consented to seeing you back in December. I did have a phase when I raged at fate for always making me second," Hermione flinched, but Severus went on, "but then I realized it was nonsense. I wasn't actually second with Lily, I was first, only she didn't want me. The situations are complete opposites, if something. And also, I realized it really is better for you that you met Ronald first."

"Severus..."

"I'm completely serious now. I'm very emotionally damaged, and physically too. Add this to the fact that I'm much older than you are...it would have been a very difficult life, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Realistically speaking."

Hermione looked away. "Let's not spoil this evening by being bitter," Severus said and she actually laughed, startled. "Well, coming from you," she said, "I feel like I really must head this advice."

It ended up being a very pleasant evening after all.


	5. 9th January 2014

AN: Late again. I'm sorry, Severus! Happy 54th birthday!

(This takes place on the 9th January and I don't own the characters, unfortunately.)

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Severus was pretty sure one was supposed to get pleasant things for birthdays. Or nothing, alternatively. But certainly, scheduling things you dreaded for that date seemed extremely uncelebratory.

Somehow, however, he didn't think telling Hermione that after she suggested that he should meet her children would go over too well.

She'd been insisting this past year, and his excuse of "I will meet them when they come to Hogwarts" was met with just a raised eyebrow. In the end she made him an offer he couldn't refuse – she'd take him to an excellent Indian restaurant in London, her treat, if he just picked her up at home and met her children. That of course meant that, since she'd be leaving afterwards with him and the children couldn't be left alone because of their accidental magic, he'd have to meet her husband too.

He wouldn't have been interested in seeing Weasley even before that incident in the summer two years ago, but now he positively loathed the idea. Especially since, as Hermione told him, her husband knew about their close brush with an affair. She also told Ronald her reasons for refusing Severus. The older man was now imagining the smug face of that irritating creature, and perhaps even a whispered comment along the lines of "Dear Professor, I win. Sincerely, Ronald" - which was paraphrasing a line he saw written on a Muggle student's notebook once and immediately liked, but which he would have liked much less if it was directed at him.

Hermione's children alone were an unpleasant idea, combined with her husband, it was a nightmare.

He knew Hermione wouldn't have insisted if he'd told her how much he really disliked the idea, but he couldn't do that, because what reasons he could give? As for her husband, if he said he strongly objected, she'd assume he still wasn't over her – which wasn't really true. He wasn't jealous of Weasley personally any more, he just represented to him the people who managed to get something he desired. James Potter, Sirius Black and all those others were now represented by Ronald Weasley. He knew, however, that Hermione wouldn't understand. "You have to get over it," she'd tell him, "and the best way is meeting Ron." As if it was that simple. But then again, in her world it was. She had her own share inferiority complexes, but none were so deeply ingrained and thus were relatively easily overcome. His on the other hand...

And then there were the children. He didn't like young kids much, really, and they didn't like him, so the meeting was bound to be a disaster. At least he'd warned her in advance that if they called him 'Uncle Severus' once, he'd brutally murder them. Though she just laughed when she heard that, so he didn't know how seriously she actually took him.

All in all, he was not in a very good mood as he walked down to the school gates that evening – not that he ever was after a day of teaching, but this was worse than usual. To add insult to injury, Victoire Weasley had given him a letter for her godmother in that afternoon's class, saying that she didn't want to send the owl out in the terrible weather - it was uncommonly warm for January, true, but unfortunately, that did not mean there were no storms. So he could sort of see her point, but he still thought acting as an owl for a student was demeaning. However, it was always extremely difficult to refuse anything to Victoire Weasley. Residual Veela charms aside, his mission had been to show her that Slytherin is not the evil house, and refusing a request that wasn't completely outlandish seemed rather counterproductive. So he'd just grumbled something and took the letter.

Thank Merlin for the bubble-head charm, he thought as he walked through the heavy rain, and the impenetrable clothes. Otherwise no amount of Indian food could coach him out of his quarters on this miserable evening.

Finally he was at the gates, and then he just Apparated to Spinner's End and took a shot of whisky before Apparating to Hermione's house. He had a feeling he'd need it.

There was just Hermione there, no one else, and she was smiling brightly at him, dressed for the evening. "Hello, Severus," she said. "I'm glad you haven't chickened out."

He pretended indignation, not admitting that he'd almost done exactly that.

"Rose! Hugo!" Hermione called, and two small figures appeared in the doorway. "Say hello to Professor Snape. Severus, these are my children."

As they advanced on him with their hands outstretched for a handshake, he took a good look at them. The girl, Rose, had bushy hair identical to her mother's when she came to Hogwarts; however, hers were bright red, which was a rather shocking combination. Hugo's hair were normal, though bright red too, but he was the one who inherited the unfortunate teeth. Severus supposed they were waiting for his permanent teeth to fix it.

"Hello," he said, trying not to sound too cold, and shook their hands.

"Sit down for a moment, Severus," Hermione invited him, and he unwillingly did so. The moment his backside touched the sofa, Rose was next to him. "Professor Snape," she said, "can I ask you something?" And without waiting for a response, she continued, "I got a Potions encyclopedia for Christmas this year, and I've just been reading the chapter about bezoars. It says there that is serves as an antidote to most poisons, but it doesn't really say why it works on most, but not on all of them. I mean, is it that the ones it's useless for are the strongest? Or why?"

Severus exchanged a short, amused look with Hermione. The years with Rose Weasley at school were going to be exhausting.

"Not precisely," he answered. "it is more that certain toxic ingredients – usually very expensive and rare ones – are simply immune to it. You can have a very strong poison without them, but they are used in the most expensive and reliable ones, precisely because bezoar doesn't help against them."

Rose had another question up her sleeve: "Have you ever used any of these in practice?"

Severus shot Hermione another look. She was biting her lip, but she didn't say anything. Oh well. At least the girl will learn that curiosity killed the cat.

"Yes, Miss Weasley," he said silkily, "I have indeed, on many occasions, when someone else was paying for the assassination."

Rose nodded wisely. "It makes sense," she said, "it would be stupid if Voldemort wanted you to pay for the things you did for him out of your own pocket."

Severus was too astonished to even say anything. That was the point when Hugo joined the conversation, and said with his slight lisp: "I bet you could make a super-strong poison that wouldn't have a cure, not even the thing Rose talks about, and would be super-cheap. I'll make one when I'm big!"

It might have been the most surreal sentence Severus had ever heard, including "certainly not, you must kill me."

Out of sheer desperation, he turned to Hermione and asked: "Will your husband not be joining us?"

She laughed at him outright. "No, he got detained at work. Something tells me he will be home just after we leave for the restaurant, however...which I think we should do now. The dosages have to start small."

In all likelihood she meant her children, but in context of Hugo's statement, it sounded ominous.

However, when she asked him what he thought about her children after they sat down in Lakshmi's Lotus, he could in all honesty answer that they were like no children he'd met before. And he certainly meant it as a compliment.

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AN: The reference was, indeed, to Twilight. That was how I got to read the book – I saw that line ("Dear Jacob, I win. Sincerely, Edward.") and thought "wow, I might like this book, it sounds cool". Of course then I found out it wasn't actually from the book, and that the book was rather different...

Also, sorry there wasn't so much Hermione/Severus interaction. It will get better next year, I swear. :))


End file.
